Re: essential loop recordings

[Kim Flint <kflint@loopers-delight.com>]

At 05:45 AM 6/25/2003, Tim Nelson wrote:
> > --- Kim Flint <kflint@loopers-delight.com> wrote:
> > > So let's hear it. What were 5 albums from the 90's
> > > that you think
> > > influenced looping? (or influenced you and your
> > > looping.) Can you say
> > > something short about each one about what makes it
> > > essential listening for loopers?
>
>There seems to be some equivocation regarding the
>criteria here. While I certainly respect Andre's view
>that 'essential listening' should mean that it's
>Important (with a capital i), unique and deserving of
>its place in historical context, Kim's request *does*
>include that parenthetical part allowing for the
>subjectivity of personal influence.

Actually, I added that because I thought it would help spark the 
conversation.  But what we're really after are recordings that 
significantly influenced looping and were important in a larger sense, not 
just an individual sense. I figured if enough people cited the same thing 
as a personal influence, that might be taken as a clue that it is of 
greater significance.

The items that end up in the "Essential Recordings" page should be 
something more than just a favorite album of somebody's that happened to 
use looping.

In the clip above you left out my original ideas about what might qualify 
something as essential:

>>they might be recordings where new ideas or techniques in looping were 
>>first introduced, or where looping was first heard in a type of music 
>>where it hadn't been used before, or recordings/artists that influenced 
>a 
>>lot of people to become interested in looping or expand their abilities 
>>as loopers, etc.



>it's possible that a recording that doesn't even
>include looping may be an important influence on a
>looper.

yes, I agree with that, and I think that is fine really. There are many 
albums that didn't directly use the sort of audio looping techniques we 
talk about here, yet did in fact influence a lot of people to get into 
looping, or introduced musical ideas which people then tried to do in real 
time with loopers. Some of those belong on the "essential" page.


>Should Kim's question be rephrased to specify that
>"Essential Loop Recordings" must competitively earn
>their inclusion by featuring the first known example
>of a particular technique, must feature specific
>equipment and/or must be widely known?

yes, that's more the idea. The items we put on that essential recordings 
page should meet a higher standard. We're hoping to get the opinions of 
folks who have spent a lot of time listening to loop based music and using 
looping and can give an educated view about which recordings were really 
important. And then of course, we will then need you to explain why they 
are important!

But don't take that to mean it has to be really restrictive. We don't have 
a limit on the number of items that can go on there. Feel free to throw in 
your favorite choices. I hope we can come up with some good entries!

>Or should we go
>with the "what were five albums from the 90's that
>influenced you and your looping" aspect? I think
>either way would be valid, but they'd be very
>different lists!

In the end they probably will be different, but I think this is a 
perfectly 
good way to figure out what was really essential. For example, if we see 
numerous loopers citing David Torn as a personal influence, we can then 
see 
that his music was having a pretty big impact on the larger scope of 
looping. It's sort of an opinion poll.

The idea is to get a good list of recordings that people can check out and 
learn something from.

As Michael originally pointed out, we are also thinking of having a 
separate page for "favorite albums" where anybody could come along and 
post 
something they like and put a little review of it in there. This would 
then 
be the place for albums that somebody liked and happened to have some 
looping in it, but which might not have had any larger historical 
significance or influence on looping.

kim


______________________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                     | Looper's Delight
kflint@loopers-delight.com    | http://www.loopers-delight.com